18 May 2023
18 May 2023
Environment Agency launches flood and coastal innovation programmes
The Environment Agency has updated information on 3 innovative programmes to improve resilience to flooding and coastal change. The flood and coastal resilience innovation programme has allocated £150 million to 25 local areas. The coastal transition accelerator programme will see £36 million will be invested to adapt to the effects of climate change on the […]
18 May 2023
Global temperatures set to reach new records in next five years
The World Meteorological Association says that global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years, fuelled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases and a naturally occurring El Niño event. There is a 66% likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial […]
18 May 2023
Habitat Regs to be scrapped
The government has published the list of 600 EU laws it plans to scrap by the end of the year in a much-reduced Brussels “bonfire”. In a significant retreat on its retained EU law bill, the government has slashed the number of environmental laws that would have automatically expired on 31 December from 1,700 to […]
18 May 2023
Only a third of local authorities have enough staff to manage flash flood risk
CIWEM has published a new report, funded by the Association of SuDS Authorities (ASA) and the Local Government Technical Advisory Group for Flood Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM), on Surface Water Management. Risk Management Authorities (RMAs), particularly local government, are significantly under-resourced to manage surface water flood risk. Only a third of RMAs that responded to a survey for the report said they have a full complement of staff to deliver surface […]
18 May 2023
Defra clarifies additionality in relation to biodiversity net gain
Defra has set out guidance on how developers can use habitat creation or enhancements to count towards their biodiversity net hain (BNG). If you’re creating or enhancing habitat as part of your development, you may be able to count this towards your BNG. You can still do this if the habitat required for your development is […]
18 May 2023
New database of nature-based solutions
The INTERLACE Urban Governance Atlas is a new interactive database containing 250 policy instruments for nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration. The Atlas features policy instruments from 41 countries including details on what made the instruments successful, any lessons learned and their different approaches to design, implementation and governance.
15 May 2023
Seabed mapping crucial to protecting our oceans
The UK Centre for Seabed Mapping UK (CSM) was launched in 2022 to enable UK government organisations involved in seabed mapping to build a community where members coordinate efforts to collect and share data. Speaking at the recent UK CSM showcase event in London, Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye said building a community […]